Before Sunrise

this one is for all the dreamers, the yappers, and the hopeless romantics who are afraid of the one thing they desire most. in short, it's for me. i have so many things to say but i don't know where to start, and i'm afraid that if i start i wouldn't be able to stop. from the very first scene, i felt myself entranced by the story; i couldn't look away because it all seemed so real, so human. for a scenario that seems so implausible, linklater and of course hawke and delpy manage to create tangible characters and conversations that made me feel like i was watching everything happen in real time. and "watching" isn't even the right word. "intruding" might be more akin to how i felt during the film. each and every scene was so intimate in its own quietly specific way. the foremost example of this for me was when jesse and celine were together in the listening booth, looking at each other but never at the same time. when one of them turned their eyes toward the other, the other looked away. i found myself holding my breath through the entire exchange. it was romantic, of course, one of the most romantic things i've witnessed on screen, but it was more than that, too. i can't describe what that "more" was, though. it's was just more. apparently i'm a sucker for linklater "and it all took place in one night" stories, because this one is now up there in my rankings with dazed and confused. he just has a way of capturing nostalgia, fleeting beauty, hazy love, and the purest kind of humanity in a way i didn't know was possible. and i want to be kissed so bad.